As we begin our study of Genesis 3 we need to take note of what we have seen in the time sequencing in Genesis so far. In Genesis 1 it is very straight forward with each day following upon the previous for seven consecutive days. (See:The Creation Week). On the first day God created the Heavens and the Earth, then light and a separation between light and darkness. On the second day God created an expanse between the waters above and the waters below. On the third day God gathered the waters below into seas so that the dry land would appear and then he created plant life. On the fourth day God created the Sun, moon and stars and set them in order to be signs for seasons, days and years. On the fifth day God created sea life and the birds. On the sixth day he created the cattle, beasts of the earth and the creeping things. He then created man in His own image. On the seventh day God rested. And just as a quick reminder, these were literal days for their length is defined in the text as a sequence of dark (evening) and light (morning) being one day. In addition, the order of when things were created preclude Genesis from ever being reconciled with the ideas of evolution. (See: The Importance of Creation). If your God is not powerful enough to create everything in just six days and also clearly communicate the fact, then you have a small god who is not the God of the Bible. (See: The Character & Nature of God)

In Genesis 2 we have a summary recounting of Creation with an emphasis on the sixth day with particular details given that will help understand the events that will follow. Among them are the creation of Adam and the Garden of Eden; a description of the Garden and Adam’s responsibilities in it; the command to not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil; the naming of the animals by Adam; the formation of Eve from material from Adam’s side; and the establishment of marriage and the first family. (See: God Made Man)

As we come to chapter 3 there is no time marker about how much time has passed since the sixth day of creation. We know from chapters 4 & 5 that Adam had two sons, Cain and Abel, that reached adulthood before Seth was born when Adam was 130 years old. We would assume that Adam & Eve would have sought to be faithful to God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply,” but it is the Lord that opens and closes the womb (Gen. 20:18 cf. 29:31) and there is no indication of whether He blessed them in that way quickly or not. So the length of time from the sixth day to the events of chapter 3 are limited, but we do not know if it was a matter of days, weeks, months, years or decades.

The Serpent & Satan – vs. 1a

As the chapter begins we are introduced to the serpent. Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

The serpent in this passage has a double reference. It refers to both the animal, which we more commonly call a snake, and also to Satan, the evil being that was using the serpent as a tool in order to tempt Eve. Revelation 12 & 20 specifically identifies Satan as “the dragon, the serpent of old” (12:9; 20:2). Paul also makes a tie between the Serpent and Satan in 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14).

We are not told when the angels were created, so we do not know exactly when God created Satan, but we do have a description of what he had been like in Ezekiel 28:12-15. Thus says the Lord God, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you [there.] You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created, Until unrighteousness was found in you.”

This description puts Satan as perhaps the greatest of the angels, but something terrible happened and unrighteousness was found in him. It is thought that Isaiah 14:12-14 describes his fall saying, 12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning [Lucifer – KJV], son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.” The problem with Satan is “I” disease – pride and selfishness, the same disease that still plagues mankind.

We are not told when this fall into unrighteousness occurred, but it had happened by the time that he shows up here in Genesis 3. We know that it could not have been prior to the end of the sixth day of Creation since God pronounced at that time that all that He had made was very good (1:31). There is no basis for any type of time gap in Genesis 1.

Satan, which means “adversary,” goes by many names including devil (“slanderer” or “accuser”), Apollyon (“destroyer”), Beelzebul (lord of the flies), Belial (wicked), Lucifer (star of the morning), murderer and evil one. His titles include God / ruler of this world, Ruler of demons, the serpent of old, prince of the power of the air, and world forces of darkness. His names reflect his evil character. He is also fierce, deceitful, conceited, and cowardly. Since his goal is to usurp God and receive the glory and honor that only belongs to the Lord, he will use any means necessary including disguising himself as an angel of light. He will tempt, afflict, accuses, sift and deceive people as needed in order to get what he wants. Yet, though he is powerful and leads one third of the angels that fell into sin with him, he is no match for the Christian who can defeat him and cause him to flee by simply by submitting to God and resisting the devil (James 4:7). Those who are not Christians should fear for he is at work in their lives (Ephesians 2:2) for he is ruler over them until they repent and turn to Christ. Satan’s plans will not succeed for God will judge him and eventually he will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

In this passage we find that Satan uses a serpent as a vehicle to speak to Eve and deceive her. Verse 1 specifically states that the serpent was “more crafty than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” While we often take “crafty” to have a connotation of a somewhat sinister intelligence, there is nothing sinister about the serpent until Satan starts to use it. As I pointed out last week, “crafty,” comes from a word root meaning open, without hindrance and so with full capacity of its abilities. The serpent was prudent, intelligent, wise. Satan would use these qualities of the serpent to bring about his deception in order to tempt Eve to sin.

Notice as we examine the temptation that there is no indication that Eve is surprised to have the serpent talking with her. Whether she had ever talked to the serpent or any other animal before is unknown. We know that Balaam’s donkey talked to him in Numbers 22, so perhaps some animals had such abilities prior to the fall. Regardless of any speculation, this serpent was empowered by Satan and said the words Satan wanted.

The Temptation & Fall – vs. 1b-7

The Opening Question – vs. 1b-2

And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’”

The opening question is not an innocent quest for clarification of God’s commands for that command was only given to the man, not the animals (2:16). The question was specifically designed to introduce an new idea to Eve that perhaps God was holding something back from her. In her state of innocence she would not have considered the command not to eat of one particular tree to be any sort of unfair restriction. Her answer itself shows that she thought of it as a safety measure to keep her from harm. She could eat of anything she wanted in the garden except the one tree which she was to not eat or touch lest she die. She would not want to die, so this warning was something good. It would be the same as coming to a sign that said, “Danger! N Keep Out” with a skull and cross bones on it. Sensible people understand that sign to be a blessing for it is a restriction meant for my good.

However, notice that something is added beyond the specific command that was given to Adam back in 2:17. Somewhere along the way the restriction of not touching it was also added. Perhaps this was a further clarification of God’s command, but from what is stated in 2:17 it seems more likely that this was an additional precaution Adam added in explaining God’s command to her. We often still do the same thing today in setting rules to avoid danger. The actual danger maybe over there at the edge of the cliff, but we will move the fence 10 feet back in order to remove even the possibility of an accident. If Adam set the rule back to not even touching the fruit from that tree, then it would be impossible to eat it.

The Lies – vs. 4-5

4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan now boldly lies about God and His command introducing the idea that God is not good for He is withholding something good from her. The first statement is an outright lie that accuses God of not telling the truth about the consequences. God said “lest you die” and Satan says “you surely shall not die.” In short, Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), is calling God a liar. The second statement builds on the first by proclaiming a half-truth, which is a whole lie. The insinuation here is that God is lying to you because He does not want you to become like Him. This is still one of Satan’s most common tactics in deceiving humans. Tell a lie about God making Him seem unreasonable and unfair in withholding something that seems good to you. In this case the accusation is that God was withholding from her two good things, the fruit itself, but more importantly the ability to be like God.

The true part of the statement is that God did know that on the day that she would eat fruit from that tree her eyes would be opened in knowing good and evil. However, God’s knowledge of it is from His omniscience. If you will it is theoretical and from observation. Her knowledge would be that of personal experience. She would know evil because she would experience it by practice in her own life which would then bring about the consequence of placing her under God’s condemnation. God’s command and warning was to keep her from that very danger.

The lie in this statement is that it would make her like God. The truth is that she was already like God for she was made in His image in being a person who is rational, emotional and volitional as well as reflecting all of God’s moral attributes in perfection – holiness, righteousness, love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, self-control, etc. In experiencing evil she would actually become less like God for her rational, emotional and volitional abilities would be diminished and her moral characteristics would change in two ways. Her good moral characteristics would be corrupted and she would develop moral characteristics that would be the opposite – profanity, unrighteousness, sadness, anxiety, impatience, evil, harshness, cruelty, impulsive, etc. The truth is that she would become less like God and she would become like Satan.

Be warned that this is still Satan’s tactic and he is very effective with it for it is the main reason that people do not desire to obey God. Satan has made many and varied lies about God resulting in people believing that they will not get the good things they want if they obey God. The result is that they pursue and gain the evil that they crave , which they falsely believe is good, along with its consequences and miss the actual good of God’s blessings.

Why is this tactic so effective for Satan? First, it disparages God’s character so that you will believe a lie about Him. Second, it is designed to entice us in any or all of the three major areas of our desires. We see this in Eve’s response in verses 6 & 7.

The Temptations & Fall – vs. 6-7

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

James 1:14-15 explains the nature of temptation stating, 14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” Lust is simply a word that means strong desire. Whether it is good or evil depends on the thing desired and the means by which you seek to have the desire fulfilled. Temptation occurs when there is something we really want and that desire carries us along to get it even if it is illegitimate or if legitimate to gain it by some means that is contrary to God’s commands.

1 John 2:15-17 explains that one reason we are commanded to love God is because of the consequences of loving the world. In doing so, it also reveals the three major areas of desire in which we are tempted. Eve was tempted in each area. 15 “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and [also] its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.”

Love of God results in doing the will of God and abiding in Him forever. Love of the world is the opposite and results in the pursuit of something that is fleeting at best and will pass away resulting in an eternity separated from God.

The three areas in which we are tempted are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. When Eve considered what Satan said through the serpent and then looked at the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil she became enticed by something that was illegitimate for her and to fulfill her desires by a means that was contrary to God’s command. She was enticed by the lust of her flesh because the fruit of the tree was good for food. She was enticed by the lust of her eyes because the tree was a delight to her eyes. It was beautiful in appearance. She was enticed by the boastful pride of life because she believed the lie that it would make her wise.

It is important to emphasize here that the desire for food, the desire for beautiful things, and the desire to be wise are all fine in and of themselves. Eve’s problem was two fold. First, she wanted these desires fulfilled by a means that was contrary to God’s command to her. Second, she believed a lie that it could make her like God. She could somehow become an equal with God. Mankind still falls for that lie and it is the basis for many false religions and cults. It is a repetition of Satan’s sin of the “I” problem – “I will make myself like the Most High.”

Eve gave into those lusts and took from the fruit and ate, and then to compound the problem even more she gave it to her husband and he also ate from it. There is a lot of speculation about where Adam was all this time and why he ate from the fruit. Those who want to reduce Adam’s culpability suggest he was elsewhere in the garden, and Eve went and found Him, and he ate what she gave him not knowing what it was. However, within the text itself it is just as plausible that Adam was standing right there next to her, possibly even being there the whole time. If that is the case, then Adam failed in two ways. First, he failed in his duty as the keeper of the garden to protect the Tree of the Knowledge or Good and Evil, and second, he failed to protect his wife from disobeying God.

Regardless of where Adam was when he was given the fruit by Eve, he listened to her voice instead of the voice of the Lord (3:17) and he ate of it falling into sin himself and also plunging all of future mankind into sin with him. The New Testament is very clear that while Eve was deceived and fell into transgression (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:13), it is from Adam’s sin that we trace our sin nature. Romans 5:12 states, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned–.”1 Corinthians 15:22f explains our hope of salvation and resurrection in Jesus Christ but prefaces it with the statement, “For as in Adam all die.” That being true, then it was Adam, not Eve, that was the cause of the fall of mankind into sin.

As a quick footnote to Adam’s actions, I have read where some commentators have tried to make Adam’s eating of the fruit into some wonderful demonstration of his love for Eve arguing that he did it because he did not want to be separated from her. This would make it the first lover’s suicide pact. If she is going to die, then I am going to die with her. I am all for romance, but those kinds of pacts have always been stupid. Adam’s actions only demonstrate that he also did not believe or trust God. It was a defiant and willful action of disobedience. Perhaps it was fueled by the fact that Eve did not fall down and die immediately upon eating the fruit. Regardless, if he really loved God and her, he should have refrained from eating the fruit and then pleaded with God for her life, perhaps offering his own in her place. That would have been love.

Verse seven tells us that they were immediately aware of their sin demonstrated by their recognition that they were naked. What had previously been pure – mind, body and emotion – was now corrupted. They experienced a new emotion – shame. They then did what mankind has sought to do ever since. Cover up the evidence of their sin by their own means. They sewed fig leaves together in the first attempt to make clothing.

The Immediate Consequences – vs. 8-21

Their Fear – Verses 8-10 describe the next consequence which brought another new emotion and new action – fear and hiding. 8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

One of the blessings they had in the garden was fellowship with God who would come and meet them in the garden, but that was now changed. When they heard God coming they were afraid and hid themselves from Him. God called for them, not because He did not know where they were, remember that God is omniscient, but because it gave them the opportunity to voluntarily reveal themselves instead of being involuntarily apprehended by Him.

Their Excuses – In verses 11-13 God questions them and mankind begins another new behavior – the blame game. It is always the fault of someone or something else. 11 “And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Again, God’s question is not because He did not already know the answer, but because it gave them the opportunity to voluntarily confess and plead guilty instead of being involuntarily convicted by the evidence. Adam then sought to deflect the responsibility from himself, but notice whom he actually blames. It is not just the woman who gave him the fruit, but it is the woman “whom you gave.” Adam is actually blaming God. Yeah, Adam admits he ate it, and yes, Adam says it was because the woman gave it to him, but he placed the final responsibility of it on God because God was made it possible by giving her to be with him. That accusation against God still underlies most excuses. There may be admission of committing the sin along with explanation of how another person contributed to it, but underlying it all is the accusation that God is ultimately responsible. At least Eve did not do that. She admits she was deceived, but blames the serpent for doing it. The serpent is now speechless. Their sin brings on both immediate and far-reaching consequences.

The Curses – vs. 14-19

Curse on the Serpent – Verse 14-15 explains the first immediate consequence which is a curse on the serpent. The serpent in the primary focus of this curse, but there are further ramifications and a future hope given in what God says. 14 “So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You [are] cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

The serpent, which had legs to this point, would lose them and now would have to crawl upon its belly down on the dusty earth. It was symbolic of its degradation. The animal that had been more “crafty” than all the others would now be in a humble position. In addition there would be enmity, a deep-seated hostility, between it and the woman. She had trusted the serpent before, she would not do so in the future. To this day there is a general and innate hatred of snakes by the vast majority of all women in all cultures. But notice carefully that the serpent is “cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field.” The other animals also fall under a curse.

But there is also hope in this passage for the reference to the serpent here also has a double meaning. There is the animal which is cursed, but there is also the power behind it, that old serpent, Satan. There is also enmity placed between “your seed and her seed.” The “your seed” is a reference to Satan’s followers which have the devil for a father (John 8:44; 1 John 3:10). “Her seed” is a reference to a future savior that would come from a woman and would crush Satan’s head. No man is mentioned in the verse. That ultimately would be Jesus Christ who is the only person born without a human father. Satan will cause Him to suffer (a bruised heel wounds), but Jesus will utterly defeat Satan (a crushed head kills the rest of the body too). Satan had won a victory in enticing Adam & Eve to sin, but he will not win the war with God. He will be crushed.

Curse on the Woman – Verse 16 details the curse on the woman. “To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire [shall] [be] for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” God’s original command for them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth was a joyful one. Her sin now resulted in it being a reminder of her sin and filled with pain and sorrow. Animals do not exhibit pain in childbirth as do women.

In addition, there would be sorrow in her relationship with her husband. The original design for marriage was lost and as I said last week cannot be regained except in part in a Christian marriage in which the husband and wife are walking in the Spirit and obeying the Lord’s commands concerning the role that each of them have been given (See Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-7, etc.). There is much speculation about the meaning that her “desire shall be for your husband,” But since this is a curse resulting in his ruling over her I think it is related to this change in the marriage relationship. A wife wants her husband to love her, but men do not love women the way they want to be loved. Because sin has now brought insecurity in the relationship she seeks to get what she wants by various means of controlling him which then usurps his proper role of leadership in the marriage resulting in a rule over her instead of loving leadership. In most nations around the world women have been forced into second class roles in which their oppression by men is very obvious. Yet even in western societies in which feminism has had great influence, a woman can only go so far before the man becomes unyielding and will reassert his autonomy and rulership. He might even go to the extremes of using physical force or the opposite extreme of abandoning her. A woman cannot get what she really wants from her man unless the Lord changes the heart of the man.

Curse on Adam & the Earth – Verses 17-19 detail the curse upon Adam and the earth. 17 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

Because Adam listened to the voice of his wife instead of the voice of the Lord’s command he disobeyed and sinned bringing curses upon himself and the earth. The ground was now cursed so that he would have to gain his food through toil and sweat instead of just being able to reach, reap and eat as he had done from the fruit trees in the garden up to that time. The ground would now grow thorns and thistles – weeds. These were plants that were no longer following their original design and growing out of place or out of control. It would now take greater labor to cultivate a crop to eat resulting in a sweating toil. There would undoubtably be an attitude change as well for you can do the same labor and it can be either joyous work or sorrowful toil depending on your attitude. And finally, Adam is told that he would return to dust. He would die and his physical body would turn back into the dust from which he had been made.

God had warned them that if they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would die. Death is separation. They died that very day spiritually for the close relationship they had with God was cut off. They now feared and hid from God instead of welcoming His presence. God would no longer walk with them as He had before. They also began the process of physical death too. Like a branch cut off from the tree, once it is severed from the source of life, it is in the process of dying. Adam would return to dust.

The Atonement – Yet even in this there was still hope as briefly explained in verses 20-21. 20 “Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all [the] living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”

Remember that the hope given back in verse 15 was for a future child that would be a savior and crush Satan’s head. In anticipation of that Adam now called the woman “Eve” which means “life,” for she would be the mother of all the living. All humans are descendants of Adam and Eve. Any thoughts that there were other humans that either predated or were contemporary with Adam & Eve are contrary to the Scriptures.

In addition the Lord intervenes. Adam & Eve’s nakedness revealed their sin and clothing was necessary to hide the shame of their sin. However, their efforts to make clothes for themselves out of fig leaves was inadequate, as are all of man’s self directed efforts. God stepped in and made garments for them out of animal skins. Question? How do you get an animal skin? You have to kill the animal. The skin of the animal was then made into clothes which would cover over the shame of Adam & Eve’s sin. The root meaning of “atonement” is a “covering.” An animal died to cover over, to atone for, the sin of Adam & Eve revealed in their nakedness. God made the first sacrifice to atone for the sin’s of humanity. The animal died in their place.

The Expulsion – vs. 22-24

There was one further consequence to Adam & Eve’s sin and that was being expelled from the Garden, but this was actually a protection of them. 22 “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”– 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

God drove them out of the garden and then assigned cherubim to guard it with a flaming sword so that Adam & Eve would not return to the garden and eat of the Tree of Life and live forever. I know there are some that immediately question this thinking that living forever is the goal so why not let them eat of the Tree of Life. The answer is simple. That method would be by their own effort and leave them in their sinful state for eternity. They would have to rely on God to provide a way for them to be forgiven of their sins and restored to a relationship with God that they might have eternal life with Him. It was God’s grace and mercy that drove them out.

Adam & Eve had rejected God’s easy way of obedience in order to follow the way that seemed best to them. The consequence was the removal of God’s blessing and the curses of a comparatively hard and harsh life. God provided a means of forgiveness, but they could not go back to what they once had and they would daily make choices of either to obey God or not. We have the same choices in our own lives. There is the way forgiveness in Jesus Christ and obedience to God and receiving His blessing, or there is the way of doing what is right in our own eyes, but that is the way of death (Prov. 14:12). Which way are you choosing? I pray you want to follow Jesus Christ.

Christians should _____________ Satan. Non-Christians are under his _________________

The Serpent

Crafty means ______________________

The Fall of Mankind – vs. 1-7

The Opening Question – vs. 1,2

This was not innocent, it was designed to _________________________________ to Eve

The Lies – vs. 4,5

The first statement is an __________________. It accuses God of ______________________________

The second statement, a half-truth (a whole lie), insinuates God is ______________ because He does not want her to become like HimGod’s knowledge of good and evil is from _______________, hers would be from ______________

If she ate the fruit she would become less like ____________ and more like ______________

The Temptations & The Fall – vs. 6-7

Temptation occurs when our desires carry us along to fulfill them even if it is _________________ or to gain what is good by a method _________________ to God’s commandsThe 3 major areas of temptation are the Lust of the _______, of the _______ & boastful ___________

Adam failed in his duty as the protector of _________________ and of _________________

Mankind traces its sin nature through _________________

The Consequences – vs. 8-21

Fear – vs. 8-10

When they heard God walking in the garden, Adam and Eve _________________

Their Excuses – vs. 11-13

Adam blamed ________________ and ________________

Eve blamed ____________________

The Curse on the Serpent – vs. 14-15The serpent lost his _____________ and was moved from an exalted position to a _____________ one

In addition to the serpent ______________________________ was also cursed

“Your seed” refers to ________________________

“Her seed” refers to a future savior that would crush Satan’s head. This ultimately is ________________

The Curse on the Woman – vs. 16

She would have multiplied _____________________

Her desire would be for her husband

He would rule over her

The Curse on Adam & the Earth – vs. 17-19

This curse came because Adam listened to _____________________ instead of ___________________

The ground was cursed resulting in __________________________________________

Adam would have to earn his bread by ________________________________________

Atonement means _________________. The animal died as a substitute and it skin covered their sin

The Expulsion – vs. 22-24

If they ate of the Tree of Life and lived for ever they would still be in their _____________

KIDS CORNER

Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help.

Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many times “sin “is mentioned in the sermon. Talk with your parents the how Adam & Eve sinned and what you can do to avoid sin.

THINK ABOUT IT!

Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What is the time sequence of Genesis 1, 2 & 3? What is the relationship between the Serpent and Satan? What was Satan like before he fell? What caused his fall into unrighteousness? What is his character? What is his goal? What is strategy? What was the purpose of the serpent’s opening question? The serpent directly contradicts God. What does this accuse God of doing? What reason does it give for it? What lies about God have you been led to believe? What is the source of temptation? What are the three areas of temptation – 1 John 2:16? In what ways was Eve tempted in each of these? Jesus was also tempted in all areas (Matt. 4:1-11). How did He resist and overcome them? How can you resist and overcome temptation? How did Adam fail in his duties? Who gave mankind its sin nature? Explain. What as the immediate result of their eating of the fruit? Who did Adam actually blame for his sin? What should we do when we sin? What were the curses on the serpent? Other animals? Explain. What hope was given? What curses were placed on the woman? Explain. What curses were placed on the man & the earth? Explain. How do you see these curses affecting you and the world you live in? Were there any humans that either pre-dated or were contemporary with Adam & Eve? Why or why not? Why did God drive them out of the garden? Why was this to their benefit? Resources: Unmasking Satan, Richard Mayhue; Angels: Elect & Evil, Fred Dickason; The Strategy of Satan, Warren Wiersbe. Sermon: Successful Christian Living, Part 10: Temptation and Obedience, 12/2/2001)